James Mayo (OR85) has been announced as the Male Sailor of the Year award winner at the 2025 Australian Sailing Awards on 14th November in Sydney. 

Mayo beat out a strong field to claim the 2025 title, largely driven by his success at major regattas across several classes. 

His 'Team Magpie' won their second consecutive Etchells World Championship in January, he Skippered Master Lock Commanche to Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore victories and was aboard Rainbow when it came third at the J-Class World Championships.

It was the team results that meant the most to Mayo this season. 

"One of the proudest moments for me was crossing the finish line at the Etchells Worlds and I had tears of joy for GT (teammate Graeme Taylor) who had just won his first world title. I was privileged enough to win one back in 1999 and we had two seconds together by very narrow margins, so to see him win that was incredible." 

The OIU congratulates James on this impressive award. 

To read the full article go to https://www.sailing.org.au/news/mayo-thomson-and-rfbyc-winners-at-australian-sailing-awards